Republican Senators Attack Attorney General Gonzales

During the first six years of the Bush administration, the Senate and House avoided hearings into the possible errors, or worse, of the executive branch. With the Democrats controlling both, investigative hearings are going to be a way of life in Washington. In yesterday’s questioning of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the Democrats didn’t have to do much. Republican Senators led the attack, and one even demanded the AG quit. He should do exactly that without delay.

The damage began with an opening statement that was, given a charitable reading, incoherent. He apologized to the eight US Attorneys whom he had fired, which event caused this whole unpleasantness. He said the process by which they were sacked was “nowhere near as rigorous or structured as it should have been.” Then, he remarked, “nothing improper occurred.” Surely, if that were the case, then the process was adequately rigorous and structured, and there was no need to apologize.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), wasn’t happy with the AG’s testimony, “"Mr. Attorney General, most of this is a stretch. It’s clear to me that some of these people just had personality conflicts with people in your office or the White House and we made up reasons to fire them. You have a tremendous credibility problem with the American people and the Congress.” The use of the word “we” is an interesting choice. It suggests that the Senator still views himself as a Bush loyalist, but his comments demonstrate that he has more than a nodding acquaintance with the truth. Mr. Graham added, “You said ... these were not the right people at the right time. If I applied that standard to you, what would you say?”

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) is about as fair-minded and level-headed as they come in the US Senate. He complimented the AG saying, “You have been a forceful witness, and you have had a lot of staying power.” Then, he remarked, “But we haven’t gotten, really, answers. I urged you to put on the record the details as to all the US attorneys you asked to resign so that we could evaluate. And you have not done that.” Mr. Specter pointedly refused to call for Mr. Gonzales to resign, but stated, “His ability to manage the department has been severely undercut by the way he has handled these resignations and by the way he has handled his news conferences, his press statements and his testimony before the committee.” He also said to Mr. Gonzales, “Your characterization of your participation is just significantly, if not totally, at variance with the facts.”

The AG told the committee he didn’t remember some fact or other 71 times. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) said, “I guess I'm concerned about your recollection, really.” John Cornyn (R-TX) called the firings “deplorable.” He also told the AG something that Republicans in the legislative branch haven’t told GOP members of the executive for six years, “You made mistakes.”

Tom Coburn (R-OK) went even farther than his colleagues. He told the AG that the firings and their aftermath were “handled incompetently.” The AG’s claim that the firings were professional and not personal was merely “atrocious.” He then shocked the entire room by saying, “I believe the best way to put this behind us is your resignation.” And it is.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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